Phil Plays with His New Toy

Phil went on an extensive shopping trip yesterday for electrical parts. Back home, Phil and Joe put the handle on the French doors, and Joe took the keys. Joe cackled away as he locked and unlocked the door, and carried those keys with him for the next 24 hours or so, checking his pockets periodically to ensure they were still there, and reporting proudly that he did, indeed, still have them.

Phil also had to reschedule the electrical company. The utility locate man had inexplicably not showed up, and, of course, the electrical company came during the time that Phil was away. The utility locate has now happened, and maybe tomorrow the electrical company will be able to come again. That frustrated me a good bit yesterday (people! show up when you're supposed to!), but I don't think it makes much of a difference in the end.

I know that people always say that a child will not be sharing a bed with his parents when he leaves for college (or maybe that's about bed-wetting? anyway, same principle). I had wondered with Joe. But I think after his first night's failure to make it more than half the night, he was determined to make it overnight, so September 17 to September 18 he made it. He cried out with cold about 5am, I think, but made no move to join us. And when he woke up, I heard a bleary voice call, "Mommy! I made it overnight!" He was quite pleased with himself.

And beds are on his mind, as he reminded me later in the day that the baby will, at some point, need a bed, too. I didn't mention that by the time the baby is Joe's age, Jadon may have a driver's license and be only a few years away from leaving the house. But then, that would have had no meaning for Joe anyway.

As Phil and I continue to wrestle through sequencing of the building's progress, it seemed like the next step was to gravel along the final side, at least partially.

That will allow him to grade the long north wall.

If I understand correctly, it's because running electricity is the next step, and that requires the ability to trench as directly as possible. Which also means that mounds of eventual backfill dirt need to be out of the way, and the grade needs to be pretty well set, so that the electrical line can actually be placed in the ground and not just on the ground. It's safer, not to mention cheaper, not to be ruining electrical line.

Happily, the weather was perfect, the ground as dry as it's been all year, and Phil spent several happy hours playing working with the grader. (He also put up a bit more waterproofing, and fixed the insulation that had been sagging: a bit of excavating, then batten boards to give the insulation support, before backfilling again.)

Phil has ended every day this week, I think, saying, "That was a productive day." Excellent.

I suppose my days are productive as well, continuing to incubate. I have been having occasional Braxton Hicks contractions for the last six weeks, but I was not surprised that yesterday was a full moon—I had more, and stronger, contractions than I've had yet. I don't know that we know why some women have Braxton Hicks, but the midwife wonders if it's to get the uterus in shape. I am going to have one well-toned uterus by the time this baby comes out!